Filing Chapter 7 - need some questions answered

[lucasg186]

Have a few questions that some of you may be able to help with.  I cant' locate all the answers on the site.

I've sadly decided to file for Chapter 7.  I do not want to keep my house (60,000+ upside down).  My lawyer says to stop paying mortgage, let it go into foreclosure, keep living there until then and then we'll include it in banktuptcy.  Is this how this works?  So I'll have a foreclosure and a bankrupcy on my credit?  Is this like a double wammy?

Also, should I stop paying credit cards now?  But then they'll have lates reported until the bankrupcy goes through?  've already provided all the financial info to my lawyer and he says we should be able to file "soon."  Should I pay this round to give me another 30 days?  

Ultimately most of this is gonna stick on credit report for 7 years, so should i just go all out and stop paying and pay the price for 7 years?

Any guidance would be great from someone with recent experience.

[Comet21]

Once you file any credit included in BK will be reported as Included in Bankruptcy(IIB). Sometimes creditors will report incorrectly but it is up to you to have everything reporting correctly. Since they will not be reporting any of your bad information, except IIB, they will not report any of your good payment history. So I would not be too concerned with your credit score if you are going to file because it is going to take a hit, but it is what you do from this point moving forward.

[aussiesareforever]

I will preface this by saying I filed a Chapter 7 in 2008, so this is FAR from being judgemental. Just wanted to ask if you have completely considered all your options before you file? I ask because I discovered the forums after my BK and I wish I had found it before. I could have done more to prevent the BK. In my specific situation, I ignored my creditors and filed when they started threatening to sue.

The BK gave me a fresh start and a new understanding of how the credit system works. I was completely clueless before then. I've come a long way but sometimes (more recently), I wish I had tried harder. Not primarily because of the six additional years I have to wait to finally get an AMEX but the constant worry I currently have about my potential employers finding out about my BK and losing a good job because of that.

I'm sure you've thougt things through but only wanted to share my two cents. Good luck to you on your credit journey!

[aussiesareforever]

I realize my recent post did not answer any of your questions. All my accounts were charged off when I filed. However I had one secured BOA credit card that was current. I paid my bill until I filed. I'm not sure about the forclosure question since I did not own a house at that time.

[Anonymous]

Bankruptcy is THE whammy. Having late accounts before it, or having a foreclosure during or soon after aren't really going to make it much worse. Start rebuilding ASAP after the bankruptcy and you'll be in the same boat after 12 months whether you had zero late payments before bankruptcy or 50.

[Comet21]

You are completely correct about doing your homework before filing BUT you cannot lose your job because you have filed for BK. you may not be able to get a certain position after filing but you could sue your employer if they fired you for filing.

[aussiesareforever]

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@Comet21 wrote:
You are completely correct about doing your homework before filing BUT you cannot lose your job because you have filed for BK. you may not be able to get a certain position after filing but you could sue your employer if they fired you for filing.

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Actually I'm not worried about getting fired. I'm concerned that the new job that I really really really want (perfect job and location) might pass up on hiring me because of my BK